Swords and Misadventures
by vanny98
Summary: A Collection of Omakes from Swords and Sorcery a Fate/Stay Night & Harry Potter Crossover
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to Swords and Misadventures, a posting for Swords and Sorcery (Fate/Stay Nigh & Harry Potter) omakes.

If you have written an omake and your not on SB, you can message me and it will be posted here.

Chapters:

1\. Index

2\. Iris Potter and Luck Breaker II-Did Anyone Say "Things Can't get Worse"? by Worldbringer of Joseun

3\. Mini Omake Or One Liners For Grabs by Hexxor(few snippets)

4\. A Different Grail War by Worldbringer of Joseun

5\. Hardest Judgement by Hexxor

6\. The Destined Meeting Part 1 by phantomdemon2

7\. The Destined Meeting Part 2 by phantomdemon2

8\. The Destined Meeting Part 3 by phantomdemon2

9\. The Destined Meeting Part 4 by phantomdemon2

10\. The Destined Meeting Part 5 by phantomdemon2

11\. The Destined Meeting Part 6 by phantomdemon2

12\. Destined Meeting Part 7 by phantomdemon2

13\. The Destined Meeting Part 7.5 by phantomdemon2

14\. Destined Meeting Part 8 by phantomdemon2

15\. Destined Meeting Part 9 by phantomdemon2

16\. The Lockhart (Doesn't) Strike Back Or how Lockhart learned that he should have learned from his mistakes. by Worldbringer of Joseun

17\. The Emiya Bunch by Hexxor

18\. The Spirit of Giving by Hexxor

19\. Fate/Sorcery Order: Swords of the Lostbelt by MantisLion


	2. Worldbringer of Joseun Omake 1

Iris Potter and Luck Breaker II-Did Anyone Say "Things Can't get Worse"?

Shirou and Iris were busy trying to figure out how to use Shirou's conjured sword to help barricade the door in order to survive the mountain of letters -or some girls that decided that letters were not sufficient to convey their feelings, when a commotion broke out on the other side.

Shirou and Iris paused. There were too many voices for them to be sure who was speaking but they were hoping that it was McGonagall or some other teacher. In this situation, they would even take Snape!

The commotion died down but there were a bit too many thumps for it to be a teacher.

Shirou and Iris exchanged glances. They knew the sounds of bodies hitting the floor far too well for them to not realize that there was some violence going on.

Although, to Iris, they sounded a bit differently from when Shirou smacked to her the ground in their spars. Too few vibrations ringing through her skull.

Shirou conjured some more swords and used them to reinforce Iris's transfigured wooden frame. If his luck had gotten enhanced by Luck Breaker, then he might be looking at a yandere.

Iris was trying to transform the frame of the wooden barricade into steel. It was slow going.

The commotion ceased.

Shirou and Iris backed away from the door. If they were unlucky, then the attacker might try to destroy the door. To show their belief in their luck, both of them had their wands out and pointed at the door.

Silence. Maybe if they were lucky, the person would think that they were not here.

Luck!

Iris's eyes darted to the potion. If Shirou poking himself with the dagger was enhancing his bad luck, then maybe her drinking the Felix Felicis might counteract it?

Or would she be like Shirou and all it would do is create a new monster or a dark wizard trying to kill her in a new way?

Well, at least they'll be prepared if it does happen.

Before she could make the suggestion, the door knob was tried and the person on the other side discovered the barricade.

A pause.

Then the person spoke up. "Shirou, you have less than 10 seconds to open this door before I open it for you."

It sounded like Rin, it had the same accent and cadence as hers. But her voice was a little deeper than Rin's voice. Like someone was trying to do a ventriloquist trick to pretend to be Rin.

Iris narrowed her eyes at the door and spoke up. "I don't know who you are but imitating our friend will not get us out of here."

She glanced aside to Shirou. Why was he paling? And why was he starting to cast the shield charm?

"Forget the time," the imposter said. "I'll just kill you now."

The imposter snapped out a German word.

The door exploded.

Splinters flew in and only the fact that Iris loved the shield charm (it meant that Shirou took a few more seconds to break through) allowed her to cast it fast enough to protect herself from a shower of splinters.

As the door cleared, Shirou and Iris paled.

It was a red clad demon, with flames in the background and a smile that spoke of murder and torture as it walked through the shattered remains of the doorframe.

It looked like an adult Rin. Did she use an Aging potion?

"Shirou, if you have been fooling around with yet another girl, I will kill you." She spoke, still smiling, eyes closed. "If you have already disrobed her you have until I finish this sentence to put her clothes back on. You are part of my harem, remember?"

Shirou swallowed. It looks like a Rin from the Kaleidoscope had finally come to retrieve him.

But from the sounds of it, this Rin had a Shirou who was a playboy and Rin had her own harem.

Was his luck so bad that not even Liquid Luck could make things better!?

He just knew that Archer was laughing at him somewhere.


	3. Hexxor Omake Collection 1

**Mini Omake or One Liners For Grabs by Hexxor**  
 **The Ultimate Inside Joke:**

The Unbreakable Charm. Shirou was euphoric that Professor Flitwick presented this charm in class. While he knew how to forge indestructible weapons and armor, this charm presented a huge boost to his options for crafting materials. Immediately upon mastering the charm, he cast it on his own robes, and updated their status in Unlimited Blade Works to account for the additional charms and protections.

Obsidian. Shirou has several obsidian Noble Phantasms, ritual daggers, macuahuiti, and the like. The glass like substance could hold an edge as thin as three nanometers, far sharper than anything made of steel could possibly be, but it's brittle nature always invalidated it as a primary component for construction. But with this charm... He pulled up the blue print for a simple obsidian dagger, something he saw in a museum, and began altering. Increasing the length, honing the edge, modifying the hilt. There. Now applying the charm, double checking the resul- "Mr. Emiya!"

Shirou looked up startled, seeing Professor Flitwick giving him a severe look, "Are you with us again Mr. Emiya?"

Shirou's face heated up, and he nervously rubbed the back of his head, "Yes Professor, sorry. I was thinking of different ways to apply the charm."

"And you took fifteen minutes in class to consider this?"

A chuckle passed Shirou's lips, "I guess I got lost in my own little world."

=================

 **Not Lancelot:**

The Great Hall was buzzing about Shirou Emiya again. He blitzed through the halls like an arrow, weaving through students and statues, ricocheting off walls, and at the end, Lockhart was out of the castle and the teachers were saying he tried to potion Iris Potter, while the Prophet was claiming she attacked Lockhart.

A surprisingly large number of students believed Iris and the teachers. After all, if she was going to ambush Lockhart, she'd have clearly used Shirou, not Granger.

And if she had, Lockhart wouldn't have survived.

"After all, he's a half vampire half nundu descendant of Lancelot!", someone said loudly.

A snort came from Ravenclaw table. A student stands up, "A half nundu half vampire descendant of Lancelot? Please, you're all fools."

An murmur went through the crowd before he continued, "After all, all those things can be harmed! He killed a troll without a scratch! He shot three teachers, and never got harmed! He jumped at least five stories and didn't even slow down hitting the ground! He can't be hurt! When you combine that with how much the House Elves respect him, and his own fondness for the hunt, only one conclusion can be drawn. He's not some breeding project from Camelot, he's the Immortal Green Knight himself! Potter's not the heir of Slytherin, she's the Heir of Morgana Le Fey, and used her dark pact to call forth her ancestor's ancient ally among the Fae!"

The murmuring became less hostile and more contemplative. After all, it made sense to them.

=====================

 **Family Life:**

Iris Potter knew her life was strange. But really, there had to be limits right?

Okay, so the man sitting next to her is her Godfather, who happens to be an escaped convict running for the law while claiming to be innocent of all the crimes he's accused of, and also her pet dog.

So what if her self appointed bodyguard was also her self appointed caretaker and was mildly obsessed with cooking and chores as a method to relax. Maybe a little unusual, but it was productive and he liked it.

And if the little House Elf she set free decided that he'd help take care of her while he was looking for a family, well he was a House Elf and she didn't have a house yet.

Being told dinner was late shouldn't be odd compared to her housemates. Shouldn't be. And yet it was. Not because there were two people that loved cooking for her, or rather, exactly because there was two people that LOVED cooking for her. The rights to who got to cook dinner were being decided at the moment, Shirou demanding the right to cook he was denied all year at school trying to chase Dobby out of the kitchen with a very cursed wooden sword. Dobby, demanding the right to look after Iris that he will be denied all year fighting back rather impressively with a frying pan.

The epic battle as to who won the right to cook in 'their' kitchen, despite the fact that Iris herself was paying for it, had her pet/guardian/stalker/potential killer rolling on the floor laughing, tears coming out his eyes. Iris sighed, "My family is bloody insane."


	4. Worldbringer of Joseun Omake 2

**A Different Grail War**

Dumbledore sat at the head table shuffling a deck of cards.

The hall stared at him.

He shuffled one last time, with the flair of a professional dealer at a casino, and then handed the cards off to Madam Maxime of Beauxbatons. She was more awkward at it than Dumbledore, which was natural considering that her hands were much larger than the cards she was now shuffling.

She probably also didn't play cards much considering how busy the job of being a Headmistress of a leading magical school was.

Mister Bagman, cleared his throat before continuing to speak in his carrying voice. "As a result of the various Ministries of Magic being unable to find the traditional Tri-Wizard Cup after one of the previous winners, Kiritsugu Emiya, of the joint victory in 1976 of Kiritsugu Emiya, Japanese exchange student from -how do you pronounce this again? Ah well, no one will care if I leave it out-" Rin sputtered with indignation among the Ravenclaws "and Irisviel von Eiznbern of Durmstrang, stole it claiming that he feared that a past Servant Avenger had corrupted the Cup. I, and the Ministry of Magic, assure you that such a thing is impossible as Avenger had been safely killed in the opening round of the Tri-Wizard Tournament two tournaments ago. -"

Illya squeaked in embarrassment while Shirou face palmed as every student turned to face one of the Emiya in the hall.

"-But to compensate for the loss of the traditional judge, it has been decided that we would use this anonymously donated deck of cards from the Department of Mysteries to choose the next champion of each school."

Whispers and hubbub swept through the Great Hall. Every student was excited to see if they would be chosen to be the next champion.

Meanwhile, Madame Maxime finished shuffling the deck, not quite as elegantly as Dumbledore, and handed them off to Karkaroff who began to shuffle with a deft hand.

"We can assure you that no matter what the Department of Mysteries may say, that this was given to our representative by the visitor up here with us today, who by the way is named Darius Ainsworth who handed us his registration of being a subject of the Department of Mysteries-!" Bagman broke off his explanation with a look that exclaimed 'Eureka!'

Shirou reinforced his hearing to catch Bagman's quietly muttered words, "So that's why he wasn't on the list of Unspeakables, he was an escapee from the Department of Mysteries! Well, whatever it is that he gave us, it can't be that bad, right? Would help promote publicity surely if it got out that a person who broke out of the Department of Mysteries was the one who gave us our current form of the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

Shirou blinked and wondered if every adult wizard he had met was insane in one way or another.

But Bagman had realized that he still had an audience that was waiting for his next words. He cleared his throat and continued, "Regardless of the reliability of the messenger," Bagman with practiced ease ignored the looks of alarm now circulating the student body, "we have examined the "Class Cards" and have concluded that not only will they serve as a reliable way to select the champions, but they will also allow our champions an unique resource for the upcoming challenges."

Karkaroff finished his shuffling and handed them off to a mysterious, pale-skinned, black-haired scruffy looking man with an unkempt beard who received them with a wide smile and a malicious look of glee and started to shuffle the deck as well.

"In interest of preventing a biased individual from giving their school a preferred Class Card, Mister Ainsworth will be handing out the cards to each student after each Headmaster has shuffled the deck such that no one will ever be able to keep track of any card. He will be walking around the hall giving every student a Class Card. We ask that you set the Class Card face-down on the table in front of you and do not poke it with your wand until told to do so, upon penalty of expulsion from the tournament or the non-refundable loss of your wand."

Shirou looked carefully at the middle-aged man, who was now at the Slytherin Table giving each student a Class Card although some students did not look like they wanted to take it, staring at it like they had their dinner replaced by a Basilisk on top of a nuclear bomb.

Illya and her adopted cousin Miyu that attended Durmstrang both had a class card in front of them but were eying it like it would suddenly come alive and attack.

Bagman cleared his throat and started to read off the stack of papers in front of him, "The Ministries of Magic of Britain, France, and Scandinavia would like to remind any participants that the governments and schools will not be held accountable for any loss of life, property, sanity, or any previously unlisted type of loss, any gains of a beneficial, detrimental or mixed nature, alternations in life or property, or any changes of gender. Any illegal action may be prosecuted to the full extent of law up to a maximum-"

Suddenly, the students that had not yet tuned out Bagman once he started reading the disclaimer were regarding the Class Cards like they were now a hand grenade that was set to go off.

Shirou wondered about the sanity of the Magical world's students. Threaten their life like with Fluffy and they will line up to look behind his door. Mention changing their sex and all of a sudden, the Tri-Wizard Tournament is now a thing of horror.

But people might need saving so he probably should do his best to enter and participate.

Especially since Angra Mainyu had apparently gotten involved in this world's past Holy Grail Wars.

Ainsworth had reached the Gryffindor table and was now talking with Iris.

"No, I will not be taking a card. It is better for my health to not even have a Class Card near me. Actually, I probably should be avoiding the hall right now, so if you would excuse me," Iris got up looking hopefully at the massive doors leading to safety.

Darius smiled like he was a madman about to rip out your throat. "Miss Potter, I will have you know that I specialize in making and enchanting magical artifacts. One of them happens to be a scrying tool that shows a person's most embarrassing moments in their past. I have that device set up so that the first person to step out of those doors will have it shown to the entire hall."

Iris narrowed her eyes at the blackmailer in front of her. Slowly, like a person who was not a Parselmouth reaching out to grab a venomous snake, Iris moved her hand closer to Ainsworth's deck of cards. She then used her trained Seeker reflexes to grab a Class Card from Darius's hand and placed it down in her spot while sitting down so fast that she appeared to be a blur.

Darius cackled in glee, causing the people next to him to shuffle away from him. Anyone who laughed like a madman was obviously not sane. But he simply carried on handing out Class Cards to the Gryffindors, most of who had ignored Bagman's disclaimer that even now was steadily causing the Ravenclaws to turn paler and paler.

It wouldn't surprise Shirou if the Ravenclaws refused to participate, even though they had already been given their Class Cards. They were known as the house of the intelligent, not the suicidal idiots. Looking at Illya's cousin Chloe, who was on exchange with the Beauxbatons students, he could tell that the tanned girl was pointing her wand at the card like she was prepared to cast protego at even the slightest of twitches.

Smart girl that one.

Speaking of the Gryffindors, some of them had to be prevented from poking either their or their neighbor's Class Card with their wand.

Darius Ainsworth finally reached the final table, the Hufflepuff table, and started distributing cards to each Hufflepuff.

Shirou sat back, eyeing the card. If this was anything like the Holy Grail War, then the card might react to him and use him as a catalyst to summon EMIYA. Maybe he could wait until after Rin had summoned?

No, it would be better to summon at the same time as everyone else and chance that he might get EMIYA.

And his first Command Seal would be to hold that guy in place so that he could slit that guy's throat rather than have him as a Servant. He might be powerful and useful but he did not want to have that guy as his Servant.

Darius finished up and returned to the teacher's table at the front of the hall. He settled down next to Karkaroff who turned to mutter quietly to the ancient wizard.

Shirou reinforced his hearing to catch "-agreed that the enchantment on the Class Card should keep the underage students from even being to enter the tournament."

Darius smirked at the man. "It should but some people are so compatible with the Class Card that they could possibly overpower that enchantment. I expect at least six underage students to get past the enchantments that depower the card upon detecting the Trace."

Karkaroff narrowed his eyes at the smirking wizard and settled back down in his chair, frowning deeply.

Shirou agreed with the Durmstrang Headmaster's obvious suspicions. There was something wrong about that wizard.

Shirou looked around the hall, wondering which of his friends would overpower the Trace- Oh no.

He had removed the Trace from both him and Iris. And with their luck, they were both bound to be in the tournament.

Bagman finally finished the disclaimer. "-the judging court will be held in the respective nation against which the claim is being made. In the event of multiple countries as participants in the trial, the trial will be held in front of the International Confederation of Wizards and judged according to each corresponding nation's laws."

Bagman stopped to take a swallow of pumpkin juice from his glass left over from dinner.

"Well, that was a jumble of legal issues cleared up. Hope I didn't bore you to sleep!" He winked at the audience as some of the students chuckled at his joke.

"Now, for the part you have all been waiting for, the selection of the Champions!" He announced to the audience.

A breathless silence fell over the Hall as each student eagerly listened to Ludo Bagman's words. Some were eager to get a chance to participate like the Gryffindors. Others were desperate to learn what not to do like most of the Ravenclaws.

"I will warn you that at this point, the Class Card will test your compatibility with the Heroic Spirit inside. Some of you will have good compatibility and your Class Card will give you the ability to take upon yourself the identity of the Heroic Spirit, which can include knowledge of secrets long lost," the Ravenclaws as a house perked up, more eager to participate in the tournament now. "or power or skills or weapons beyond your wildest dreams!"

Shirou knew that if the students really had an inkling of what the Servants might have available, it would be more akin to their worst nightmares than wildest dreams.

"But others of you will not have a good compatibility with your random Servant inside the Class Card. To you poor folks, I offer my condolences as luck just wasn't your way today." Bagman continued. "For the safest form of testing your compatibility, please take out your wand."

A rumble of whishing robes and shifting in their seats ensued as the students took out their wands. Bagman, who already had his wand out, used his free hand to show everyone the blank Class Card he had.

"Tap your wand to the Card," Bagman demonstrated. "and while keeping the tip of your wand there, say 'Include.' It can be in any language you desire."

A rumble of "Include" echoed throughout the school.

And then things got interesting.

Bright flashes of light sparked to life throughout the Hall as various students suddenly had their Class Card respond to their activation.

Shirou kept his eyes open scanning over the hall, even as his own pillar of light surrounded his wand. He needed to know what the other Heroic Spirits would be. If there was another Gilgamesh or Caster or Archer then now would be the first chance to know and head it off before it was too late.

Illya stared at her wand and card which had transformed into a red shafted stick with a star in a circle and several white wings.

Next to her, her childhood best friend Miyu stared at her own wand which had changed from her fine yew wand into a blue-shafted wand with a star in a circle with wings instead of the usual rounded tip.

The two wands suddenly moved, startling the two girls into shrieking, dropping their wands and to clutch at one other.

"Oh dear, that simply will not do!" Illya's former wand suddenly spoke.

"Sister, it might be better for us to simply say what Class we are and explain in a more private setting," Miyu's now blue wand spoke in response.

Everyone nearby was now staring at the talking wands.

Their wands had been stolen and replaced with sentient wands!

Illya nearly panicked as she realized that the wand her mama had bought together with her was now gone. And she now had a sentient magical artifact. Stories that her mama and papa had told her about how such thinking artifacts killed their owner flashed through Illya's mind.

Fortunately, papa was paranoid.

Illya pulled out her second wand and pointed it at the thing that had replaced her favorite wand.

The red wand ignored her and sighed. "Very well, but afterwards I think we ought to do something fun at least."

The two wands floated into the air -by themselves! These are magical wands that moved themselves!- and bowed towards the two girls.

"Mistress/Master, we are proud to announce that you have the unrivaled Class of Magical Girl!" the two wands spoke as one.

Illya and Miyu stared.

The class of what now!?

This is as far as I have gotten. I figured that Chloe von Eiznbern (Kuro) should get the EMIYA class card but didn't really have a good way to show it without deciding on Shirou's Class Card.  
As a bit of explanation, each Class Card is enchanted to deactivate if the witch or wizard that touches them has the Trace. But as Darius said, if the compatibility is high, then both the person's magic and the Card might overpower the enchantment.  
Also, some (almost all) people had bad luck in the compatibility of their cards to themselves. Even those without the Trace might end up with a Heroic Spirit that doesn't match their personality. And if they don't match, then the Heroic Spirit inside the Card will not lend their strength to the contestant, thus preventing them from becoming a school champion. Because when you think about it, most average students don't have the raw materials to be the heroes of legend. And Gryffindor, the house of the brave might not either. Any Gryffindor might have ended up with a Caster or Archer or Assassin Card that would regard the average Gryffindor as a crazy that has nothing in common with them while a Saber like Siegfried might have been compatible with that very student.  
Or for a specific compatibility example, Romilda Vane might have ended up with Medea of Colchis who would certainly not lend any help to a girl who thinks that using a love potion on another as ethical due to her own experience in being under a love spell from Aphrodite. Even if Romilda didn't have the Trace on her, Medea would not react to Romilda and lend her her power.


	5. Hexxor Omake 2

**Hardest Judgement**

Iris looked at the dragon figure in her hand. A figure of what she'd be facing in her first task in the Triwizard Tournament.

It was a Ridgeback.

Of all the twisted luck, she got the one that made her miss Otr.

Maybe cooing over it was strange though. At least the other champions seemed to think so, based on the looks they were giving her. Although Cedric seemed the most accepting.

Iris spent the time torn between staring at her figurine and remembering Otr and wondering how she was doing after having out grown the castle, and determining the dragons mood based on their noises. Mostly remembering. The dragons were angry, hungry, worried, and angry. Very angry. Pretty easy to figure out, even if you didn't help raise one.

Then came her turn.

She walked into the arena, and then kept walking. This had to be a joke. I mean, they did this on purpose right? Was this them being kind, or mocking her? After all, to have her face her own little Otr in this stupid competition!

She was lost in her own thoughts as her an Otr's eyes locked for the first time in a year. The crowd was silent. Before she even realized it, Iris had walked within the range of Otr's chains, and the dragon snapped forward, quick as a viper and just as quick back to her nest, The Girl Who Lived gone.

The crowd erupted in screams, the Dragon Handlers, Judges, and a teary eyed Hagrid rushed forward. From the nest of the great beast, all that could be heard was...

"You spoiled little princess. Really, demanding scratches in the middle of all this."

The group was dumbfounded. A bit of complicated magic to see inside the nest showed The Girl Who Lived nestled in the nest, Golden Egg beside her, scratching the dragon's scales. She briefly pulled one hand away to wave her wand, and a side of beef flew from the kitchens to disappear into the dragon's maw. Hagrid was the first to recover, "Ya a'right in there Iris?"

Iris snorted, "Yeah yeah. Big Princess here wanted her scratches and snack. Honestly, she's going to be a mother, but she can't even take care of herself."

Hagrid's chuckle turned into a full belly laugh at the looks on everyone's faces. It was Dumbledore that broke the rest of the silence, "Oh my. Now this will be tricky to grade."


	6. phantomdemon2 Destined Meeting 1

**The Destined Meeting Part 1 by phantomdemon2**

The Great Hall was silent as everyone stared at the three standing in the center of the hall.

"Mister Emiya, I hope this will be a reason why not to stab everything you find with magical exploding Swords in the future." Said Dumbledore, as he stared down at the (Natural) Red head.

"...I'm not following." Shirou said, as he looked up at the professor.

"Shirou, we're in a different universe, given the second Dumbledore." Iris said, pointing at the second aged Headmaster.

"Quite." The Headmaster standing behind the teacher's table said. "And while I recognize myself, I don't recall the two of you. Will you please Introduce yourselves?"

"...Why wouldn't you recognize us?" Iris blinked, shocked.

"Iris, different world. We might not be the same or even alive in this world." Shirou said.

"Wait, we could be dead but Dumbledore is fine?" Iris asked.

"Not quite." Dumbledore said, as his eyes twinkled as he looked over the Familiar but changed Great Hall. "I believe things will be explained when you introduce yourself." Dumbledore then gave a smirk that only those who knew him would recognize.

And all the Teachers at the table paled when they saw it.

"So, why don't you begin." Dumbledore said. "Miss Potter."

A second of complete silence before complete pandemonium took the all.

The loudest being a large 'WHAT!" from the Gryffindor table.

Iris turned and saw a familiar mop of hair and familiar green eyes staring at her.

The Hall fell silent as people looked between the two, now that the name being said, the similarities apparent.

Iris slowly turned to Shirou. "...help?"

Shirou rolled his eyes but moved forward, grabbing Iris's hand and dragging her closer to the Gryffindor table.

"Hi, this is Iris Potter, what's your name?" Shirou asked, holding out a hand to the male version of Iris.

"Harry." The boy said, stunned, even as he shook Shirou's hand.

"Nice to meet you Harry." Shirou said before turning to Dumbledore, leaving the two Potters to stare at each other blankly. "Now, do you have any ideas on how to get home Professor Dumbledore?"

The one standing behind the table looked at the one still standing in the middle of the hall and the two just stared at each other for a second before both shook their heads.

"The two of us will look into this matter Mister Emiya, but, until then, you and Miss Potter can still continue with your classes." The Dumbledore at the Center said.

Shirou nodded, before pulling Iris away from her stunned staring contest with her counterpart, pulling her the the doors.

"Oh, and Mister Emiya!" Dummbledore called.

Shirou turned to look at his Headmaster.

"This might be a different Hogwarts, but the rules still remain. Please refrain from shooting the teachers. Again." Dumbledore said.

"He's only Shot Snape Twice!" Iris instinctively said, defending her friend.

A stunned silence once more fell over the Hall, as they turned to Shirou then to Snape, then back and forth.

"WHAT!"

And Pandemonium ensued once more.


	7. phantomdemon2 Destined Meeting 2

The Destined Meeting Part 2 by phantomdemon2

The Trio stared at the duo in front of them, the only people in the common room as this discussion was going on.

Or lack there of, as neither Iris or Harry knew what to say.

"Mmm." Hermione hummed, clearly trying to think of something to say.

"So, did you really shoot Snape?" Ron asked, staring at Shirou, ignoring the tension in the room.

Hermione and Harry blinked as they turned to Ron then back to Shirou.

"Yes." Shirou said, not explaining further.

"You're my Hero." Ron stated, sounding much too gleeful and serious.

Hermione rolled her eyes, even as Harry and Iris all took on the same style of glee as they remembered/imagined Snape getting shot.

"Umm, why did you shoot Snape anyway?" Hermione asked, turning to the Dimensional traveler in front of her.

"Oh, that's kinda my fault." Iris said with a small blush.

The Trio turned to face Iris.

"Well, did you have Quirrell at your first Quidditch Game?" Iris asked.

At first, confusion covered the Trio's faces, as they knew it was Quirrell who was the cause of that incident.

Understanding bloomed on the Trio's faces as they remembered Hermione setting Snape on fire.

"The Curse on the Nimbus?" Harry asked.

Shirou nodded. "Correct. I was standing near Hermione, who informed me of the requirements to curse a broom like that and saw that both Snape and Quirrell fit those requirements."

"So he shot them." Iris said, matter of factly.

"So I shot them." Shirou parroted, a roll of the eyes as he did so.

"With what anyway?" Harry asked, feeling uncomfortable with the looks ...his? Face was giving Shirou.

Without much prompting, Shirou manifested a Bow in his hand and the blunted arrows he had gotten used to summoning.

The Trio stared, well aware that he never said a word and never used his wand, yet summoned those items anyway.

"How...?" Hermione asked, Questioning in her eyes.

"We'd be all night asking those questions Hermione." Iris said, small smile on her face. "Trust me, it wouldn't be the first time you've tried."

No matter what world, no matter when or where, Hermione loved to learn.

"Besides, it's getting close to night, shouldn't you be getting ready to head to the library?" Iris asked.

"Um, Why would we go there?" Ron asked.

Iris moved to answer, before stopping. She then gave an uncertain look towards Ron. "...I've been meaning to ask. Why are you here anyway?

A stunned silence overtook the Trio as they stared at the confused Girl who lived.


	8. phantomdemon2 Destined Meeting 3

The Destined Meeting 3 by phantomdemon2

"Ok, so let me see if I have this right." Iris said. "Because you sat next to Ron, you ended up best friends with him."

"Yeah." Harry said, nodding.

"And that's the whole reason I'm not friends with him?" Iris asked.

Harry just shrugged.

"I think there's more to it." Hermione said speaking up.

"You're forgetting all the little things Iris, you're looking at the big things too much." Shirou said, supporting Hermione.

With that, Harry, Iris, and Ron all stared at the two, waiting for them to explain.

"Should I start, or you?" Shirou asked.

"I'll start." Hermione said. "Iris, you're a girl."

"Yeah, kinda obvious." Iris said, confused as to how that mattered.

"Iris." Shirou said, and Iris closed her mouth.

The Trio shared a look, Harry looking at the two, feeling the most uncomfortable.

"Right." Hermione muttered. "Well, that meant you spent less time around Ron regardless. Harry and Ron are in the same Dorm, they're in the same room, and started off as friends. From the sound of things, once you heard about how he was insensitive during our first year, that made your impression of him more negative then Harry's."

"...So, it's because I didn't sit with him on the Train?" Iris asked once again.

"That, and a bunch of other small details." Shirou said, speaking up. "May I?" He asked Hermione.

She waved him forward.

"Thank you." Shirou said as he walked up. "From what I've heard as people were talking, a lot of the big events and things remain the same between the universes, but we went about it in different ways. Those differences kept building and building up. That's not even including the fact that I'm not at Hogwarts in this universe."

"Why is that anyway?" Ron asked.

Shirou shrugged. "Any number of reasons. I might not have been born, I may be at a different school, or some other reason."

"Can we not talk about Shirou not existing thank you." Iris said, wincing.

"Sorry." Ron said.

"Anyway, from what I heard, you just knocked out the Troll in the first year?" Shirou asked.

"Yeah, Ron levitated it's Club and knocked it out with the club. Why?" Harry said.

"Shirou cut off it's head." Iris said.

Silence took the room once more as the Trio stared at Shirou.

"...What?" Hermione asked, her voice strained.

"Iris was hurt, and Hermione was in shock. In that situation, it wasn't feasible to try and restrain the Troll, so I slashed it's tendon's and severed it's head." Shirou said matter of factly.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Harry asked his female doppelganger.

Iris blinked. "Why would it? It was trying to kill me and Shirou protected me."

"But he killed it!" Ron jumped in.

"...And?" Iris asked, still confused.

Silence once more took control of the room. It also wondered if it should just become a permanent resident before Ron spoke up once more.

"Well, I think we can mark another difference between her and you Mate." He said to Harry.


	9. phantomdemon2 Destined Meeting 4

The Destined Meeting 4 by phantomdemon2

"Anyway." Hermione said, forcibly changing the conversation. "You mentioned something about the library?"

Iris and Shirou smirked. Trust Hermione to focus on that, even after being shocked so many times.

"Well, after I got the Invisibility Cloak, another Friend of mine, Rin..." Iris started to say before turning to Shirou. "Did you see her?"

"No, Sakura was gone too, so it's likely that they stayed in Japan in this universe." Shirou said, calming smile on his face. "Now continue the story."

"Right, well after Shirou...fixed...my...scar." Iris said as she paled, realizing what the lack of Shirou meant regarding that. "SHIROU! SCAR!" She said, her voice raising as she pointed to her counterpart's scar.

Shirou understood in a manner of seconds, and the Trio watched as the normal gentle looking boy seemed to shift in an instant.

His eyes shifted, becoming sharp, his back was straight and he was looking at Harry like the Twins did when they were planning a prank on someone who'd made them legitimately angry.

Harry started to back as as Hermione and Ron moved in front of him, all three palming their wands.

"What?" Harry asked, his voice going hard.

"You still have Voldermort's soul in your Scar!" Iris said.

"What?" Harry asked, his voice now confused.

"So just shut up and let Shirou stab you." Iris continued.

"What?!" Harry asked, now alarmed.

"Iris, calm down." Shirou said. "If we don't explain ourselves, we're just going to confuse them even more."

Iris visibly held herself back as she just kept pointing at Harry's scar.

"Can someone explain what you mean!" Harry 'asked'

"Since the major difference in this world, gender excluded, is who you sat by on the train, then that means that things that happened before then should be mostly the same, right?" Shirou asked them.

"Yeah, but how does that matter with Voldermort's soul and you stabbing me!" Harry asked.

"Because, when you killed Voldermort as a baby, a piece of his soul got embedded into Iris's scar." Shirou said solemnly. "And if the things before Hogwarts were the same, then that means the same happened to you."

Harry gulped, stunned into silence, as Hermione and Ron looked horrified.

"And...and how does Harry getting stabbed help him?" Hermione ask, doing her best to keep the rising horror out of his voice.

"Rule Breaker." Iris said, happiness, exasperation and hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked.

"No, that's on me." Shirou said, shifting his hand in such a way that it obscured from view.

When it was back in sight, a certain athame was in his hand. "This is the Blade known as Rule Breaker. It has the ability to nullify magical bindings it comes into contact with. And the soul is being bound to the scar, so if I get rid of it, then the soul becomes loose. I have another weapon that can then kill the wondering soul." Shirou explained.

The Trio looked at the evil looking blade and at Iris who was nodding along.

"In contact right? You don't really need to stab Harry, do you?" Ron asked.

Shirou gave a slight grimace. "No, I do need to stab him. But, not a lot, I need to prick him with the blade, as that's what activates the blade's magic."

"It's pretty painful though, so we might want to head to the Room." Iris said, wincing at the memory.

"What Room?" Harry asked, rubbing at his scar.

Iris stared at Harry for a second.

"First you don't know about the Library, then the scar, now the Room. Next you're going to tell me you don't know Otr." Iris complained.

"Who?" The Trio said as one.

Iris stared at the three, specifically Harry. "...I've never been more disappointed with myself then I am right now."


	10. phantomdemon2 Destined Meeting 5

The Destined Meeting 5 by phantomdemon2

Hermione, Iris and Shirou watched as Ron took Harry up the stairs to the dorm.

Harry was clearly in no shape to talk after Shirou took care of the Soul Fragment in his scar, and Ron was watching over him to make sure he was fine.

"...How'd you find out about that?" Hermione asked turning to the spot where the Spirit had been stabbed by Shirou.

"Long story." Shirou said. "Short version is that I know a spell that can read the history of objects I touch, and I used that on Iris when she had the concussion. That was something that popped up when I was looking for injuries."

"I see." Hermione said still sounding out of it.

Shirou gave a look towards the bookworm before turning to Iris. "Hey, Iris, why don't you go and talk to Harry, you have first hand experience with what he's feeling after all."

Iris thought about it for a second before nodding. "Kay, I'll be back later."

The two then watched as Iris moved to follow Ron and Harry.

After waiting a moment, Shirou turned back to Hermione. "You ok there?"

Hermione gave a deep sigh. "Honestly, no, I'm not."

"What's wrong?" Shirou asked, mentally going through his blades and spells.

"Harry." Was all she said.

Shirou just waited, giving her a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Harry has always been more stoic then most." Hermione began. "Make no mistake, he feels things very strongly, but he doesn't show it often. Iris on the other hand, is much more visible with her emotions."

Shirou thought about how to answer for a second. "Well, isn't that usually the case? Aren't girls usually more open with their emotions?" Shirou asked, vaguely remembering some studies that went along those lines.

"True. But the fact Iris looks healthier then Harry? That she's willing to speak up more? The fact she seemed shocked we weren't going to the library? And the little things, like her playing with that bracelet of hers." Hermione said before sighing. "I'm friends with Harry, and he's someone who seems to always get into trouble. I don't mind, Harry's my friend, but seeing Iris makes me wonder if I'm being a good enough friend."

Shirou moved closer to Hermione, patting her on the shoulder as she leaned forward. He knew what he wanted to say, but had to be careful how he said it.

"In our world, Iris has more friends then just me." Shirou began, knowing the intense look that Hermione was giving him. "She has me, she has our Hermione, She has Luna, Rin, Sakura and... and more."

Shirou waved his hand towards the stairs that the others had left by. "We all look out for each other, learn from each other and help each other grow. From what I've heard, Harry has only the two of you to really connect with."

"So what, that we're not enough?" Hermione said, her gaze now on the floor.

"I'd never say anyone isn't enough." Shirou said solemnly. "But, we all have different skills, different sets of knowledge that's helped each other time and time again. Our friend Luna that I mentioned? She's good at seeing through people, and seeing things from a different point of view. She's good at noticing when someone's feeling off, for whatever reason."

Hermione didn't say anything, but Shirou noticed her gaze was on him once more, and no longer on the floor.

"Little things that we've built from our friendships have helped us all out. On top of that, Iris has had her Scar Soul-Free for over a year now, and she mentioned that she felt a weight lift off her shoulder's when it was done. You'll have to see how Harry reacts to everything later." Shirou said. "From what I've seen, you act almost the same as our Hermione, and I have no doubt that if you asked Iris, she'd tell you what a great friend you are."

"You're Damn Right." Iris said, popping up out of nowhere.

"Language!" Hermione said, shocked at the language.

She had no idea why that caused Iris and Shirou to smile at her.


	11. phantomdemon2 Destined Meeting 6

The Destined Meeting 6 by phantomdemon2

Dumbeldore's office appeared to be empty, as the only sound was from the gadgets on his desk, and the slight humming coming from Fawkes.

That was until the Pensieve flashed and the Two Dumbledores appeared from it's depths, both rubbing their long beards.

"I see why you're so worried." Dumbledore said.

"Quite," Dumbledore replied. "To see the differences and to know in part some of the vast differences is astonishing to say the least."

"Iris Potter, the Girl who lived, and Harry Potter the Boy who lived." Dumbledore mused out loud.

"It's quite strange isn't it?" Dumbledore asked his counterpart. "People exist in one world that don't in another, and everything changes."

"Hm." Dumbledore hummed. "Mister Emiya is worrying though, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes and No." Dumbledore said. "While Mister Emiya seems to show a remarkable edge to violence, he's done so in the defense of others."

"True, but to the extent he's shown? Killing a Troll, shooting Teachers, even pulling out those remarkable blades of his on Professor Snape?" Dumbledore frowned. "And he's very casual and methodical about said violence as well. He calmly explained what he did to the troll and his reasoning as well. I can't fault his reasoning, and that worries me."

Dumbledore nodded along. "And all in the defense of Iris's life."

The two Dumbledores sighed as one.

"Extreme actions that we can't agree with, but towards a cause we can." Dumbledore said, eyes looking into the past, a sad smirk on his face. "We seem to end up in this situation more often then we'd like, don't we."

"Quite." Dumbledore agreed.

The two sat in silence, memories of the past washing over them.

That is, until Fawkes let out a soft trill that pulled them from their memories.

"Ah, thank you Fawkes, on shouldn't dwell on those memories on a day such as this." Dumbledore said, reaching out and petting the cooing Phoenix.

"Yes." Dumbledore agreed with a nod of his head. "But, back on track, what do you think should be done?"

"Quite the corundum with that." Dumbledore mused. "Miss Potter seems quite enamored with Mister Emiya, and the young lad as shown the lengths he'd go to to protect her."

"Though, it is worrying, given the challenges that Miss Potter will face." Dumbledore pointed out.

"But, to go through it alone would be asking to much of her, so having a friend such as Mister Emiya is only a boon." Dumbledore countered.

"True. But, to rely so heavily on one man? That's the same thing the killed her parents in the end." Dumbledore said, eyes downcast for a moment. "But, it's that trust and reliance that makes life worth living."

Dumbledore sagely nodded, leaning back in his seat. "Like we said before. Quite the Conundrum."

"Quite" Dumbledore said as well.


	12. phantomdemon2 Destined Meeting 7

The Destined Meeting 7 by phantomdemon2

Iris, Shirou, Ron and Harry all looked at the frazzled looking Hermione in front of them.

"Umm? You ok there Hermione?" Ron asked, looking at the Bookworm.

"No." Hermione said. "I'm trying to find out the divergent point between our two timelines but I can't figure it out."

Shirou nodded as everyone else looked confused.

Seeing this, he decided to help them out. "She's trying to find out why things changed."

The three blinked as Hermione nodded at what Shirou said.

"Isn't the whole point of this alternate world thing that it's different?" Harry asked, confused.

"Yes. But, there's always a reason why. And I'm trying to find that reason." Hermione said.

The Three turned back to Shirou.

"She's trying to find the reasons why things changed. So, why is Harry a boy when Iris is a Girl, why did Rin and Sakura not choose to come to Hogwarts and so on." Shirou explained."

"Correct." Hermione said, pouring over the rough timeline Iris had provided her. "I can rule out anything done once you arrived at Hogwarts. But, before that it's blurry since Iris wasn't able to fill in those gaps, so I may have to ask your Professor Dumbledore."

"Wait, why are you ruling it out? I mean, they clearly have had a way different time then us." Ron asked.

"That's the point Ron. But why did they have such a different time?" Hermione asked.

Ron just shrugged.

"Shirou." Iris said. "I mean, that's the thing that seems to be the thing that first separated me and Harry here, besides the obvious I mean." Harry nodded along, rubbing at his scar as he gave a glance to the foreign boy.

"Yes and No Iris." Shirou jumped in.

"Uh?" The three said, confused.

"I was the main split between yours and Harry's experiences, yes, but there's something before that." Shirou said.

"The very fact he's not at our Hogwarts means that something changed between our worlds." Hermione said. "And, think about it, you have those other friends, Rin and Sakura?"

"That's right." Iris nodded.

"I checked, and they aren't here, never have been." Hermione said. "So, why are they at Hogwarts in your universe, but not ours? Anything you could have done before Hogwarts shouldn't be able to effect students from overseas."

"Oh." Iris said.

"So, what do you got then?" Harry asked.

Here Hermione pouted and frowned at the same time. "Nothing. Like I said, I can't use the things that happened while in Hogwarts to determine the split, since it clearly happened before then, and Iris doesn't know enough about that time to help. So, I'll have to ask their Professor Dumbledore to see if he could shed some more light on the situation."

"What if he doesn't know?" Ron asked.

"Please, he's Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said.

"Yeah, but what if the change was from before his time, or a bunch of those small changes like me sitting next to Shirou?" Iris asked.

Hermione looked at her paper, filled with notes about possible splits, and thought about what Iris said.

Then she carefully moved them all to the side, before her head slammed onto the table.


	13. Mithril-blade Destined Meeting 75

The Destined Meeting 7.7 by Mithril-blade

"I got it!" Hermoine suddenly exclaimed, a bunch of papers and portraits threatening to fall from her hands.

"You do?" Everyone there blinked in surprise.

"Yes! The main difference is that Harry's dad played a Barry White song on the night of his conception while Iris' played Marvin Gaye!" She proudly announced, pushing her chest forward in pride...before the impact of her research fully hit her.

"Oh,"

"Crimey...why does that make any difference?" A flustered Ron managed to get out between clearing his throat.

"Because one led us to go down to business, while the other started things with some backroom fu-" A talking Portrait of one James Pottered happily began to inform them before being muffled by Hermoine's sleeve.

"Shut up," She hissed in embarrassment as she fought with the painting.

"I was going to say 'fun'!" The portrait complained.


	14. phantomdemon2 Destined Meeting 8

"So, what's up with Shirou?" Harry asked his counterpart?

"...You're going to need to be a bit more specific then that." Iris said, thinking about what Shirou could have done now.

"I mean, he's got a dagger that can stab magic, he can kill a troll, and you keep muttering about beating him someday." Harry continued. "What's up with him?"

Iris paused, thinking about what she could say that wouldn't betray Shirou's trust. And how to phrase it of course.

"He's... complicated. He's told me some stuff, but I can't say anything about that." Iris began. "So, I guess I'll start with the obvious. He's super good at fighting."

"Ok?" Harry said, confused as to where this was going.

Iris shook her head. "No I mean he's REALLY good at fighting. He can match Snape Blow for Blow when they're just using Hogwart spell's."

Harry blanked as he looked at her.

"He and Snape demonstrated what dueling was supposed to look like, Shirou then kicked ass. Like I said, he can do that." Iris supplied.

"How's he that good?" Harry asked.

Iris shrugged helplessly. "I don't know, he's training me and I still don't know. If I knew, you don't think I'd have copied somehow or something."

"It's called practice."

The Children who Lived jumped into the air as they turned to face Shirou.  
The Destined Meeting Part 8 by phantomdemon2

"I have a lot of practice, and that makes me more aware of what goes into a fight and how to make it work." Shirou explained. "Anyway, I was just coming to tell you that Hermione is going on another research binge so we might have to remind her to eat again."

With that, Shirou walked off, heading towards his next class.

"...I should also mention that he can be really quiet." Iris said as they looked at their subject's retreating back.

"Little late on that." Harry said, holding his heart. "What else?"

Iris paused, thinking about something that meant so much to her.

"...He doesn't judge." She said softly.

"Hmm?" Harry hummed looking at his counterpart.

"He doesn't judge." Iris said a little louder. "No matter what someone does, he doesn't judge them for it. And he doesn't judge people for what people do to them."

Harry fell silent, understanding filling his eyes as he knew what his counterpart was talking about.

The two remained silent for a little while.

"...He's a good friend then?" Harry asked, sounding like he had a chocolate frog in his throat.

"The best." Iris responded, sounding much the same.


	15. phantomdemon2 Destined Meeting 9

The Destined Meeting 9 by phantomdemon 2

The Golden Trio looked on in horror at the brutal beatdown in front of them.

Limbs were torn off, healed, then cut off again. Strength and Skill met it's equal and was then surpassed.

Never before had they seen such a sight, never before had they watched someone get taken apart so effortlessly.

Never before had they seen Shirou Emiya practice.

"That's who you want to beat?!" Ron asked Iris who was actually taking notes on Shirou as he practiced against animated dummies.

"Beat him, I want to just land a hit on him!" Iris shot back.

Then she pouted as she remembered the Mirror.

"That's Goal number 1 at least." Iris then amended.

"...How?" Hermione asked.

"...Yeah, still working on that." Iris admitted with her head drooping.

"You wanted me to fight that?" Harry asked, betrayal in his eyes as he stared at his counterpart.

"Hey, I thought you had been training with Shirou too, I threw out the idea of you helping me when I learned you couldn't fight." Iris shot back, hurt that they'd think so little of her.

Hermione gulped. "Normally, I'd say that Harry is one of the best, especially for our age group, but if this is the standard you know, I can see why you'd think that."

"This guy is bloody mental." Ron said, watching Shirou jump of an animated dummy, jump of the wall, and 'kill' 5 or so dummies with that extra momentum.

"This is nothing, if he was challenging himself, then he wouldn't be using his actual swords." Iris said, pride in her voice for her friend.

And equal amounts of frustration as that's what she had to go against.

"...Is he even human?" Ron asked.

Iris opened her mouth to answer, then shut it.

All four of them then turned as the watched Shirou stab a Dummy that was behind him, judo flip the 'dead' corpse in front of another attack, then sever the arm of the attacking Dummy.

"I want to say yes, but it's hard at times." Iris said.


	16. Worldbringer of Joseun Omake 3

**The Lockhart (Doesn't) Strike Back Or how Lockhart learned that he should have learned from his mistakes.**

That Lockhart was surprisingly good at escaping the muggle law was one of the first relevant and genuine piece of information that Kiritsugu had learned about Lockhart.

Of course, that happened after looking up all the information he, Maiya, and Irisviel could get about him.

Born January 26, 1964. His mother was a half-blood witch, his father was a muggle.

He had two older sisters, both squibs.

He was his mother's favorite child as they found out while investigating his family, which helped characterize his vanity that was so abundantly found in his books and throughout his life.

He was above average in his abilities and rather clever when he was young. But he had a flaw that he would not try unless he was the very best.

As a result, his teachers thought that he might make something of himself if he put forth effort as he was still scoring above average despite not putting forth the effort.

Interesting that. A knowledge of his actual abilities and what he thought he was the best at would reveal his behavior.

Very useful.

Other patterns that might betray his actions was that he valued learning for the attention that it brought him. He craved attention and prizes.

He also tried to establish a school newspaper. When that failed, he went more dramatic and grandiose.

For instance, his detentions included a week's punishment for carving his signature into the Quidditch pitch in 20 foot long letters.

He also displayed an ability of shooting a hologram of his own face into the sky, interesting for a person at Hogwarts while Voldemort was at the height of his power. Ironically, Lockhart did that in his sixth year, the last full year of Voldemort's power before Voldemort had his first death in the Potter home the following October of 1981.

No one remembers how Lockhart reacted to Voldemort's death.

And in his third year, Lockhart set a new record for most Valentines received and most Valentines sent.

800\. All written by himself, to himself. And all delivered during breakfast no less.

Breakfast had been cancelled due to the number of droppings and feathers in everyone's porridge according to most of Lockhart's schoolmates reported of what they remembered of Lockhart's youth.

The most interesting part however was the questioning of Lockhart's mother, as she lay ill at home.

Because according to her, she had an affair about 9 months before Lockhart's birth. And the partner in that affair was none other but Nicholas Flamel.

An unexpected shock that.

It did explain a lot of why Gilderoy kept on boasting about how he would succeed in making the Philosopher's Stone in his school years.

After giving the information attained from that interview to his wife's family, Acht gave Kiritsugu a demand.

Turn Lockhart over to him, instead of Britain's Ministry of Magic. If Madam Lockhart had been telling the truth, it could potentially give a lead into Flamel's secrets. If she was lying, then they would turn him over to the Ministry of Magic and claim the reward for his capture.

In return, Kiritsugu had unrestricted access to the Eiznbern Clan's money and support.

Now Lockhart was worth a lot more alive than dead. The genetics of Flamel could prove to be invaluable.

If nothing else, a familicide ritual curse could wipe out the enemy of Eiznbern. But considering that Lockhart's mother was the daughter of a pure-blood, such a thing would have to severely restrained less it wipe out the majority of the British magical community, Britain's muggle community through his maternal grandfather, and a nice chunk of the magical community in the world.

Including Iris Potter.

Not a preferred option, especially as he would prefer to kill Flamel in a more guaranteed fashion and preferably with a lesser degree of collateral damage.

It would be more efficient to try to track Flamel using his son's blood anyway. It also would allow them to do DNA tests on suspects.

And Flamel would not care about his rather famous son so his hostage value was limited.

In the process of doing the research on Lockhart, the best part had been questioning Illya, Kiritsugu mused as he flipped the notebook on Lockhart to the Illya source.

He smiled as he saw Irisviel's drawings and comments that she had scribbled in when copying from Illya's letters. Irisviel never ceased to pleasantly surprise him.

But perhaps, better than having an excuse to bring out the letters from Illya again was the seeking confirmation and additional information from Illya.

It gave him and Irisviel an excuse to write more letters to her more frequently. And she had responded back quite happily.

Illya had been rather happy to spill the beans on the poser as she disparaged Lockhart.

Apparently he hadn't been able to handle a pack of pixies that he brought into an upper-year class and had been knocked out by one of his student's spells.

He flipped the page. Pixies were not abundant in Mexico. Useless. And the preliminary notion of using a flock of pixies was just a bad idea as they were too chaotic.

Illya had also referred again to the time that Shirou shot Lockhart in the Quiditch pitch. (He suppressed the superfluous memories of Irisviel and Illya asking if he was sure that he or a family member didn't have an affair or some lost relative.) Fortunately, Irisviel had kept all of Illya's letters (her favorites framed and laminated with preservation charms stacked on top) so they were able to recover some first-hand information from that.

Lockhart had not dodged an arrow when shot by Shirou. The first indicated that he was not extremely aware of his environment, although that could be partially excused by being surrounded by the entire Hogwarts population at the Quidditch Pitch. Too much information to be processed might impact the ability to recognize the sound of an arrow flying through the air.

But Shirou had shot Lockhart twice. The first arrow was to disarm him and betrayed that Lockhart had not expected to be attacked in the middle of casting a spell in front of Hogwarts. The second arrow was after he stooped to retrieve his wand and was shot by the same person in a very quick and fluid motion.

Indication of not being experienced enough to expect a second attack.

Not paranoid.

But that was then. Lockhart might have learned from that experience. And if he had learned, then Lockhart, currently on the run, might now be that paranoid and not so susceptible to long-ranged attacks.

Pity. He'll need to make the sniper with an enchanted tranquilizer option as a back-up plan. Perhaps remote controlled explosives? Definitely will have sniper act as control and tracker.

People got suspicious if followed. They weren't as suspicious if someone was watching from half a kilometer away and coordinated the team's movements.

Returning to options to take Lockhart alive, arrows were definitely out as Lockhart might have a trauma about bows and arrows. Could use as a scare tactic?

Possible. Subtlity would be necessary though. Perhaps on a road to deter Lockhart from choosing an unfavorable path?

He made a mental note to check up on Maiya's progress in learning archery skills. She had been learning archery since they realized that an archer could arc their shots over a wall or barrier. And potentially not needing to see the target, or be seen by the target in return, if they used a camera.

More relevant to his current task, an enchanted tranquilizer dart shot by a sniper would be preferred to knock out Lockhart but Lockhart might dodge if his guard is up.

This is why he preferred targets that weren't experienced with assassinations. They tended to be on guard against the optimal tactics.

Although… Lockhart might not have a second wand if his first instinct was to go for his wand on the ground rather than a back-up wand.

He marked down confirm if second wand acquired. Lockhart didn't have a second wand in Hogwarts. But he might now. But since he possibly hadn't experienced disarmament, he might not keep a back-up wand.

Better to assume that he had learned from being disarmed by Shirou Emiya. Lockhart might also be capable of close-quarter combat as well.

Had to assume that Lockhart might attempt the things written in his books.

And it was painfully obvious that Lockhart had never done what the books said he had done. Too many inconsistencies.

Kiritsugu had been to most of those places. Lockhart had a mixture of truth and fiction but those discrepancies were that of a person who had no experience in either fighting and not actually being in some of those places but instead described safer places that resembled where he said he was.

Either way, the dramatic exaggerations included those which would not have been done for a person who was embellishing the story for publishing.

And there were a lot of exaggerations in his books.

Kiritsugu scowled. Most people would get killed if they tried to replicate what was written in there.

Returning to business, have the tracker expect that if disarmed, Lockhart might first go for his wand but expect surprises if Lockhart learned from experience. Shoot if he goes for a second wand. Wait if he tries to pick it up as he might subconsciously expect being shot at while going for his wand and then shoot once he starts to run or defend.

Kiritsugu flipped to a new page of his notes on Lockhart.

He had restarted the Dueling Club. It flopped but Shirou had displayed a remarkable ability in combat against Severus Snape.

No mention of any ability of Lockhart's ability in combat but Lockhart was probably less dangerous than the former Death Eater.

Or he was hiding that he was much more skilled.

Illya hadn't been at the club but it had been the talk of the school and her friends had filled her in.

Further follow-up had not led to more information on Lockhart's duelling or combat abilities.

Kiritsugu frowned. It was hard to tell if Lockhart was better than expected or worse. And until they could pinpoint what he actually could do, he had to assume both.

He hated that.

Information was crucial for his jobs and it was clear that Lockhart was an expert in disinformation.

Kiritsugu ignored the far too common problem of not enough accurate information and flipped to another page.

Valentine's Day had been the start of his fall. It had been the day when he had caused the castle to be serenaded by hired dwarves.

Kiritsugu made sure to note that they would need to check the dwarves for Lockhart. The target could have used his previous business transaction to provide him refuge.

The target had also displayed a cunning, much like that which he had supposedly had in his youth. He had used a speech, a persuasive one that had Illya kicking herself over for being influenced by (he frowned over Illya not checking for poison or potions. What could he do to make sure his precious daughter would not be controlled or killed by someone interfering with her food?), and a large number of treacle tarts, Iris Potter's favorite desert.

The House Elves of Hogwarts had confirmed that the treacle tarts had been baked by him with their assistance and held back from dinner at the target's request. They had been rather happy about it, indicating that Lockhart knew how to manipulate others, or at least had an advantage on dealing with house elves.

Best not to use an Eiznbern House Elf. They had been useful before but not against a person who might notice or be able to persuade- the House Elf.

And evidenced by the incident where Iris Potter had been dosed with Gregory's Unctuous Unction he had either managed to slip one away and use an Unctuous Unction on it or he had slipped a premade one dosed with Unctuous Unction into the bunch.

In other words, Lockhart could be a poisoner. He would have to remind everyone to double check their food and drink for poison or potions from now on if they weren't already doing so. Especially the people who guard Lockhart once captured.

He flipped the page to what Illya had managed to get from Hermione's explanation to the school authorities on the days after Halloween.

Lockhart had used his wand to throw a table at Hermione when the girl had realized that the tea was dosed.

The target then tried to talk Iris into standing still while he apparently tried to do an obliviate charm.  
Only to forget about Hermione.

Kiritsugu pursed his lips slightly. The target appeared to have bad situational awareness, especially if he viewed them as not a threat, like a student. A vulnerability that Maiya, his Squib assistant, had often used to great effect.

But it had been used against the target several times already so he might have wised up.

Possibly a course of action would be to use it against him but primarily as a decoy for the primary plan to take action.

Then the student had used a Sun Fire curse against the target, sufficient to cause the target to make a withdrawal from the area and the school. The target hadn't been seen in the vicinity since.

A vulnerability but already exploited. Best to use the curse as either a decoy or a distraction and expect him to know how to nullify it. And be ready to stop it in case Lockhart happened to not be one of the dangerous ones who learned from their mistakes.

Kiritsugu nodded as he turned to the next and final section of this notebook, which was more about the day to day actions of Lockhart rather than the memorable occasions.

His day-to-day classes were mostly retelling stories and reenactments of his books.

Illya mentioned that each day, she entertained herself in class by imagining how to win as the monster that Lockhart was fighting.

So far, she had only failed half-a-dozen times in trying to figure out how to "kill the dunce if I had been the poor cute monster that the (crossed out word) idiot had been oppressing".

Needless to say, Lockhart didn't call on Illya for demonstrations anymore after she had kicked him in the groin before biting him on his chin as she had felt that that was how the werewolf should have fought when that he was that close to the target.

Kiritsugu let a feeling of paternal pride overcome him for a few moments.

His daughter was too good to be overpowered by Lockhart and she would be a better werewolf than an actual werewolf.

That was his daughter!

Letting the feeling go as it would interfere with the job, Kiritsugu analyzed down the list of ways that Illya remembered.

It wasn't complete and some of them wouldn't work but some of it aligned with what he, Irisviel, and Maiya had picked out from the target's books. A few were methods that he hadn't actually considered though.

But the books were like most of Lockhart's rumored abilities, stories.

And stories could be falsified and these were almost certainly so.

A few hours later, Kiritsugu set down the latest notebook about the target.

They had verified as much as they could but there was still far too much that they had not disproven.

The target was good at memory charms. If he was good enough to silently cast them, then they had to make sure that the target never was alone in private with one of them.

If Lockhart was good enough, he could set them against one another, which would lead to mission failure. (He ignored his heart's fear of having to fight Irisviel if she got brainwashed. Or worse, if he was obliviated and then Lockhart hired him to kill his wife. If he dwelled on his fear, it would interfere with his performance and the probability of the undesired events would increase.)

All in all, Kiritsugu knew that he would have to treat Lockhart like he was capable of doing everything his books said he could do but be aware that he might only know it in theory.

If he expected too much or too little, then Lockhart could potentially turn the trap around on him and escape.

But for now, he needed lunch. Then he could join Maiya in trying to track down the target's location.

A few days later, Kiritsugu was checking footage from various areas around the world.

A simple ringtone played. Kiritsugu flipped his burner phone, used only for jobs like this and recognized it as Maiya's burner phone's number.

He answered and waited for her to say something.

"Got a lead," the terse female said. "Lockhart was seen approximately 25 minutes ago in New Mexico."

Gilderoy Lockhart was walking around in the heat of the day and really glad that he had remembered how to do a cooling charm. It was much warmer here than it had been at Hogwarts, at least a dozen degrees Celsius warmer.

New Mexico was an excellent place to learn enough Spanish for him to start working on his next book, Policing in Peru. If he could manage to claim that he got a letter from a fan begging for help to protect their young daughter from the advances of a drug cartel filled with dark wizards, then it would become clear that he had left Hogwarts in order to save a damsel in distress.

Why, he could even take some inspiration from that one muggle fellow, what was his name… James Fond, was it? Father had liked those films when he was alive and had taken the entire family out to see it and its sequel quite frequently. He had even bought the books series.

And the trouble at Hogwarts? Hogwash! It was just a clever ruse by his delusional fan, Hermione Granger, to try and obtain blackmail over him.

He would have to paint her as the evil clever girl who had wormed her way into one celebrity's group of friends and sycophants (which might actually be the case as he had never even suspected her. He had caught onto Shirou Emiya, but he would have never dreamed that Hermione would pretend to have her puppy love only to attack him like that. She had seemed so genuine and had cleverly used that dangerous boy to distract attention from herself. Clever girl but he was still cleverer than her), and then she had tried to increase Iris Potter's fame by defrauding his while increasing her influence over the Girl-Who-Lived.

And the scheme she had used was to dose Iris herself with Gregory's Unctuous Unction targeted towards him and then reveal her "discovery" and proceed to attack him, counting on him having no choice but to go easy on one of his students.

After all, if Gilderoy had won, it could be seen as him bullying a student. So naturally, he had had to lose otherwise the girl would have been able to claim that he was trying to force her against her will.

It just so happened that it worked out with the situation where he had "just received a letter and was going to first tell his close friend, Iris Potter, about how he would have to leave England rather soon" so he had pretended his defeat, counting on using his now falsely besmirched reputation to help him infiltrate Peru's drug cartel.

Gilderoy smiled, his second favorite smile which was not the one that had won him those awards from Witch Weekly, as he walked along in the heat of the day in the small town near the Mexican border.

Yes, New Mexico was an excellent place to learn Spanish. They spoke the American derivation of English, was suitably fascinated by his posh English accent and could teach him enough Spanish for him to actually be able to go to Peru later this year.

Spanish wouldn't be that hard to learn in comparison to Armenian, Mandarin, and the others right?

And so Gilderoy continued to walk through the hot sun, smiling all the way and listening carefully to all the conversations in Spanish.

"Hola, señor," a warm, musical and female voice said fluently from beside him.

Gilderoy turned, smile at the ready for his new acquaintance.

She was beautiful, if in a slightly freaky way with her red eyes, pale white skin and white hair. She reminded him of that one wild child, the female Emiya, who was apparently a rare albino.

But this albino was gorgeous. Her red eyes shone brightly and with a twinkle of mischievousness, her head wearing an impressively large sombrero (he was actually a little envious of it. Would she be able to recommend the shop she got it from?), and with a colorful Mexican blanket draped over her shoulders and down to her impressive chest.

A albino beauty, who spoke excellent Spanish. He would have to put her in his new book.

Perhaps as the side-kick for his adventure, even if she was wearing a ridiculously fake black mustache.

But that could be part of her disguise that she used to prevent a beautiful lady like herself from being hit upon. Or maybe she used it as a poor attempt of a disguise against an actual drug cartel.

But first, he would have get closer to her. Close enough that she would be willing to teach him Spanish, close enough that she would be willing to travel to Peru with him.

Close enough to trust him when she wakes up one day in her bed without the memories of the last few months. Close enough to believe him when he sorrowed over that tragic head wound she had received in the climax of their fight against the dark wizard cartel. Close enough to be willing to testify for his character when the press interviewed her, hopefully with a blush on her cheeks thanks to his natural charm.

"Hola, milady," Gilderoy genuflected as the lady let out an amused and musical giggle. A good sign. He took her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it. "I am Juan Ordeo Zerr. Would you do me the honor of giving me your name?"

Gilderoy almost jolted as he felt a mosquito bite painfully into his neck. It was rather heavy for a mosquito and -yawn- he was suddenly feeling rather sleepy…

Kiritsugu blinked from between the two buildings across the street from Irisviel and the target. That was rather easy if Lockhart had actually fallen to the sniper rifle. He was prepared to start a massive gunfight or a battle of wands that would require American oblivaitors to cover it up if the shot had missed and Lockhart tried to flee.

Guess that wasn't needed. Back to Plan B then. He hated this plan.

Plan A had been Lockhart dodging the shot and Irisviel using her poisoned paper to get Lockhart to sign his own arrest warrant when she asked for his signature. The poison was a draught of living death variant meant for touch. Irisviel had drank the antidote for it several minutes ago.

Kiritsugu had liked that plan even less. If Lockhart suspected and realized and managed to escape, he might recognize his wife and go after her for revenge.

But he was no fool. Many had pretended to fall prey to the potion while secretly swallowing a bezoar to nullify the effects. That was why Plan A has as many contingencies as they could make.

That was why Irisviel had her radio on silent and broadcasting so that Maiya could hear the effects.

And why he currently had both his wand and gun pointed at Lockhart so that the target would think that he was the one who had shot him and not Maiya.

"Juan!" his wife cried out in Spanish as she fell to her knees and tried to shake the target. He had to hand it to his wife, her acting was rather dramatic if somewhat convincing. "Juan, are you okay? Say something, please!"

She rolled the target over onto ground, his face up. She placed a hand on his throat before raising her head to the surrounding people who had stopped to watch, and screamed "He's hurt! Someone please call an ambulance!"

The onlooking people suddenly started moving towards her even as a few started running to the nearest building. One of them would call 911, the American number for their emergency services. They would be intercepted, and transferred to some of the Eiznbern House Elves who would pretend to be the emergency services. The House Elves would act according to the personnel they had shadowed yesterday and tell the caller that the ambulance would be there shortly.

But alerted by the codewords that Irisviel had just yelled out, Maiya would get down from the rooftop she had shot from and into the fake ambulance that they had procured for securing Lockhart and modified so that it would be nearly impossible for the target to escape until they could reach the secure location the Eiznbern had prepared for his interrogation and imprisonment.

Kiritsugu had his own role to play according to this plan. He quickly stashed his gun in his enlarged pouch and started sprinting for the nearby building, while subtly muting the receiver on his radio. This plan would involve him picking up the phone, call into the intercepted line, confirm that that the House Elves were working according to plan, and then come out and yell that he had called the hospital and the ambulance would be here shortly. Then they could release the interception they had imposed on the real emergency services and let them take care of the real emergencies while letting the House Elves get back to their normal duties.

Kiritsugu quickly ran through the door and over to the pay phone, dialed 911 and held the phone up to his ear.

"Hello, this is the-" the voice of a house elf came over the phone.

"We have someone injured over here!" he almost yelled. He didn't like this part of Irisviel's plan. It attracted more attention than he liked to himself. "It is the corner of 12 South and Windy Road."

"I understand sir," the house elf replied exactly as he been trained to. Good. Always good to know that the help was doing what they were supposed to do. "Please wait a few minutes until the ambulance arrives. Do you know what kind of injury was suffered?"

"No, the man just suddenly collapsed," Kiritsugu lied.

"I see," the house elf said. "Would you happen to know if there is a first aid certified person nearby?"

"No," he lied again. He had trained as an Emergency Medical Technician. Of course he, Maiya, and Irisviel were trained in first aid!

"I understand. Will you please go see if there is one in the area without-?"

"Yeah, sure," Kiritsugu said before he hung up the phone, ignoring the House Elf's attempt to say something more, and ran outside, just like a panicked person might do.

"Is anyone here first aid certified?" he yelled into the crowd which turned to face him.

"I am!" Irisviel responded on cue.

"Okay, I called the hospital. The ambulance will be here any minute!" he yelled back.

The crowd broke into relieved mutters as they pressed around his wife and the target. Irisviel used her new authority as the designated first aid responder to get them to back up a few steps while she fussed and followed first aid procedure.

Kiritsugu ducked around a corner and ran to a location where he could vanish without anyone noticing. Quickly tapping a button on his watch, a gear sprung out which he grasped.

The familiar pull and blur of portkey travel quickly replaced his surroundings until he landed in the middle of the enlarged ambulance.

Kiritsug quickly took off the long-sleeved shirt that covered up his EMT outfit and slipped his jeans off. He had had to look the part of an ordinary person so that he could fool the crowd. It was another part of this plan that he disliked.

But he couldn't help it. Maiya and Irisviel had conspired to outvote him and then force him to go clothes shopping for clothes that he didn't like. They had loved it though.

At least he had gotten the rest of the back-up plans that he liked.

Kiritsugu quickly finished changing into the rest of his uniform, including a facial mask to help disguise his face. It might be suspicious but if questioned, he was going to claim that he had a cold but they were rather short-staffed today so he had to come in.

And if the target woke up, then he wouldn't know the real face of the person who was hunting him. And Maiya was fortunate enough to be rather forgettable and average.

Especially if they applied a charm to change their hair color, Kiritsugu mused as he tapped his wand to his hair, turning it from the red color it had been to blonde.

Preparations done, he walked out of the middle section and slid into the seat next to a brown haired Maiya, who was driving the ambulance.

She nodded to acknowledge his presence but kept professionally quiet while the siren blared outside but was directionally muted towards the inside. Maiya's radio was still picking up the sounds from both his and Irisviel's radios. If Lockhart attacked her now…

But fortunately, the only sounds from there were the sounds of Irisviel playing the crowd and the crowd's talking.

Kiritsugu kept silent, straining his ears to hear any whispered spells from the target or any noises like if he had moved and Irisviel or the crowd had noticed.

Or one of the code words from Irisviel indicating that she might be under an Imperious Curse or had been obliviated.

Fortunately for his heart and life of his love, none came.

As they arrived to the scene, a bare few minutes that would correspond to how long the trip from the nearest ambulance to here would have taken, Irisviel let up a cheer. "Yeah! The ambulance is here! Everyone please move back so they have space."

Translated: No problems. Target apparently unconscious but not confirmed.

As Kiritsugu and Maiya got out of the ambulance, they brought a stretcher with them.

They dropped to the ground next to the target and examined him.

No health problems and he wasn't dead. Unconscious too. But just in case…

"Did you see what happened?" Kiritsugu asked Irisviel, lowering his voice to a deeper pitch than he usually spoke at.

"Yes," the woman replied with a feigned note of hesitance. His wife, always the actor. "He was talking to me and suddenly dropped to the ground."

Kiritsugu cursed, subtly keeping it too quiet for the audience yet loud enough for the target beneath them to hear. He raised his voice so that everyone could hear "Then I'm afraid that we will need to ask you to join us in the ambulance."

"A-All right," she tremblingly said, pretending to be worried.

He and Maiya loaded up the target into the back of the ambulance. He then helped his wife into the back while Maiya quickly rounded up to the front so she could drive.

While his wife sat, looking as innocent and worried as she could manage, Kiritsugu hooked Lockhart up to some IVs which had been dosed with both drugs meant to keep him unconscious and a lesser known sleeping potion.

When he finished, he growled. "So what did you see?"

Irisviel, in a quivering voice, said "Well, we were just getting to talking and introducing ourselves to each other…"

Kiritsugu pretended to listen to his wife's acting while he started to apply the enchanted bindings to Lockhart. Once they were on, Lockhart would have extreme difficulty in moving.

And then the next phase would begin.

When he finished strapping the last binding to Lockhart, he reached over to the target's wand, hidden up his sleeve, and grabbed it.

He then patted down the target, feeling for any sign of a second wand.

Finding none, he interrupted his wife's self-written drama and walked over to the bar on the side of the ambulance.

He grabbed the bar which was the international portkey that had been prepared for this mission.

And the portkey's signature pull dragged the ambulance and all of its occupants to the Eiznbern prison that had been upgraded specifically for Lockhart's stay.

Irisviel stopped her rambling once the portkey activated.

Getting up from her seat on the opposite side of the vehicle, Irisviel took the step that separated her from Gilderoy Lockhart and examined him while her husband pulled out his wand and pointed it at blond man. Just in case, the man had managed to fool them all.

Nice wavy hair though. But he hadn't been improving Illya's defensive skills so she didn't really like him.

Irisviel nodded and suddenly threw her leg up in the air and ax-kicked him in the solar plexus.

"And this is for having to read your books! Do you know how painful it is to read stories with those lies!" Irisviel ranted to the unconscious body which had not reacted to her kick beyond what was expected of a person truly unconscious. "At that time you attributed, neither the town of Bandon nor Castle Bernard made a statue of you! You placed the order for it yourself! And you graffitied that tasteless signature onto Bandon bridge!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Irisviel saw her husband smile.

Kiri was overly paranoid and had taught her many lessons on self-defense and when she had (finally) prevailed on him to bring her along on his jobs, he had taught her how to check a target for feigning unconsciousness. Although she knew that he would have preferred for her to stay farther away than she currently is.

Her husband, the secret softy, did not want a repeat of when she had been used against him as a hostage.

Although Illya had been born nine months after that incident so it hadn't been all bad.

"And you got Cathal's accent wrong! He would have spoke…!"


	17. Hexxor Omake 3

**The Emiya Bunch**

Iris woke up in her rather spartan apartment room. Sleep still clung to her, but as always she couldn't get back to sleep. Plus, Shirou was obviously cooking breakfast based on the smells reaching her. Groggily she got out of bed and made her way to the dining area.

"Mrg", came the even sleepier reply from Rin.

Her suit was somehow both immaculate, while looking as rumpled and sleepy as the person wearing it. Rin always did take a while to get going in the morning, and today was no exception, as she had a cup of coffee that Shirou joked was recipe from the Necronomicon to wake the dead. Iris couldn't help but smile, "Morning Rin. You going to court today?"

"Ygh", was the undecipherable reply.

Iris opened her mouth to continue heckling Rin while she couldn't fight back, but was interrupted when a plate was placed in front of the two of them. "Now Iris, you know your father can't play with you until she wakes up.", Shirou gently scolded her, his 'Kiss the Cook' apron covering his rather lovely and much more straightened out kimono, "Give her a few minutes more."

"Fine.", Iris replied, already moving to start eating anyway.

There was no sound other than cutlery for a few minutes as Iris and Rin began woofing down the delights placed before them, Rin following it up with guzzles of coffee. As the two began eating slower, mostly due to running out of room to place it, conversation started once more, "So, are you going in to court today?"

Rin nodded while sipping coffee, "Yes Iris. I have an ICW case today."

Iris frowned. Those cases always took up so much time. Rin would be getting home later and leaving earlier for weeks now. Shirou seemed to sense her growing gloom however and interrupted their growth with some good new, "Oh, and my parents are coming in to stay with us for a while. We'll be picking them up right after Rin leaves Iris."

Iris head picked up even as Rin let out a small groan at the reminder of her in-laws, "Grandpa Kiri and Grandma Iri are coming?"

Shirou smiled and nodded at her, "Yes, so you should go get dressed so we can leave to pick them up, unless you want to explore London in your sleep clothes?"

Without another word she got up and ran to her room. She immediately turned to the clothes Grandma had gotten her, trying to pick out something nice.

"Iris.", came Rin's voice from outside the door.

Iris scowled, she wasn't taking that long.

"Iris, we're nearly to London, wake up!", Rin's voice became more insistent.

"One minute dad!", Iris replied.

"Iris?", came Shirou's more soothing voice.

"I'm nearly done mum!", she called, frustration starting to get to her.

"IRIS?!"

Her eyes snapped open to see her friends looking at her strangely. Rin looked mortified, Shirou had on his expression that he used when he was blatantly ignoring reality, Luna's dreamy look seemed unusually pleased, but Hermione, Illya, and especially Sakura looked like they were having trouble holding in laughter. After an awkward moment silence Hermione finally asked, "Are you feeling alright Iris?"

Iris took a moment to think back about her dream, before answering completely honestly, "I feel right Hermione. I feel right."


	18. Hexxor Omake 4

The Spirit of Giving By Hexxor

"Iris?" She turned to the voice calling her name. It was Sir Nicholas standing by a door to an unused class room, looking far more nervous than Iris was used to seeing a dead person looking. "Yeah Nick?", she asked, really hoping this wasn't about the kerfluffle at his Death Day Party. "Could I have a word in private please? In here?", he motioned to the door. Iris just nodded, a knot in her stomach as she followed Nick into the room, delayed a moment by having to force the door open, as it had seemingly not been opened in a while. Despite that, the room was spotless. Probably a paradise to the elves, truthfully. She was cut from her mussing by her ghostly friend. "About my Death Day party...", he began, trailing off awkwardly. "Look, sorry about that,", Iris interjected, "But that guy totally had it coming! Right?" Nick laughed, "Oh without a doubt! Funniest thing I've seen in decades, and that includes the tomfoolery your sire got up too!" Tension left her as Nick chuckled, "But it was about that in a way. I mean, I noticed you actually punched him, you made contact with a spirit and well...", he pulled one ear, his head toppling to the side. "I was rather hoping you might be able to take care of this?", he asked in a hopeful tone.

. Iris froze. Could she? She looked at Nick and started reaching out, cloak wrapping around her hands. She stopped and chewed her lip as Nick's mounting hope turned to confusion at her stopping. She decided to voice her thought out load, "I'm not one hundred percent sure this is going to work. I don't really know how this all works, but I can only think of it working with my hands, so if, and I mean if this works, it'll probably hurt a bloody lot. I mean, no clue on how much ripping an inch of flesh of will actually hurt, but I'm guessing a lot..." The spirit's face took on a resolved look."Not as much, I would wager, as having a dull axe strike you neck thirty six times before you die. I can endure a little more, if it means I don't have to endure this ridiculous and annoying reminding any longer!", he replied fiercely. Iris nodded, moving forward again. Just she reached, she paused as a thought occurred to her, "You know what, why don't I try with your hair first? If I can't pluck a strand of hair, I for sure won't be able to rip off your head-" she paused for a moment, "which is a story I most certainly will be using in threats if I pull this off, and probably be a lot less painful."

. "Certainly!", Sir Nicholas chuckled, the humor in his voice twinged with relief. With a nod, The Girl Who Lived moved her hand to the dangling head, and pinched a hair. She tugged. Nothing happened. She tugged harder. Again, nothing. She tugged harder yet, and was rewarded with the most disturbing movement of the head to date, combined with a pained yelp. "Sorry!", she exclaimed quickly. Looking him in the eyes, he seemed to understand her thoughts as he let out a dejected sigh, "So it appears you can't do it after all." He pulled himself up, straightening his head, "Well, no matter! Thank you for trying Iris, I appreciate the effort." He collected himself, although clearly holding back sorrow as he moved to the back of the room. "Wait!", Iris called after him, a thought occurring. He froze and turned her as she continues, "I have one last thing I can try."

. He blinked as she removed the cloak's invisibility from she sword, drawing it. She extended her cloak, solidifying it as it wrapped itself around the naked blade. She suddenly felt a shift in her bonds. The sword had changed. Some how... No, she knew how. The sword was bound to her. The Cloak was bound to her. The sword would imbibe that which would make itself stronger. The Cloak held the manifested power of death. A new bond was formed, between sword and Cloak. Heh, she was giving a new meaning to the term Cloak and Dagger. She froze however. The sword had imbibed the power of death. This could go terribly, terribly wrong... "Iris?", Nick spoke quietly, "Do you think that sword can cut it?" Iris took a deep breath. She would have to explain it, "Maybe. It has a few magics and bindings on it, so I'm pretty sure it can affect you. The problem is, I'm not sure if it will cut the skin, or, you know, kill you." He froze, a look she couldn't decipher crossing over his face. After a moment that seemed like eternity, he said, "Honestly child, both seem like a rather wonderful outcome." He pulled his head, stretch the skin that tied it together, "If you would be so kind my dear?" Iris froze, "Nick? Are you sure? I mean, what if you-" "Die?", he interrupted her, "My dear, I am dead. The only reason I'm here, is because I was a coward. I would like to blame the pain, the shame and outrage and such at my last, but the truth of the matter is that I died a coward. This is a fitting moment. If I am destroyed, I will pass on, as I should have over five centuries ago. If it separates my head from my shoulders, then I can move forward with an annoyance removed and the pride that the Spirit of Gryffindor finally faced his end with conviction. Please, my dear?"

. Her heart clenched. He was her friend. If he died... She steeled her resolve. With a nod, she moved forward in a practiced swipe. The blade sung through the air, meeting no resistance. In that moment, her own heart stopped. Then, as time reasserted itself, his head swung down. The room was silent, before an amazed laugh escaped her life challenged friend. Spectral tears fell from his eyes, even as his head fell from his hands and hit the ground. His body somehow still moving perfectly to envelop Iris in a massive huge, lifting the girl off her feet and spinning her around. "You did it!", he cried, "You actually did it!" Eventually he put her down, she laughing as much as him, and retrieve his head, "Truly, how can I ever repay you dear girl?" Iris smiled, "Just go throw your head at Wendy." He let out a booming laugh, the likes she'd never heard from him. With a salute, he phased through the floor, as she bid farewell, "Happy Death Day Nick."


	19. MantisLion Swords of the Lostbelt Ch1

**Fate/Sorcery Order: Swords of the Lostbelt By MantisLion**

 **Lost Depth: ?**

 **Lostbelt Designate Ψ – The Successor Chosen by Death**

 **CE.1929 – Empire of the Dark Lord – ********

 _The fire has been lit._

 _The fatty ashes give a fragrant smoke._

 _Open the three-forked road from the Kingdom._

 _A Master is chosen as the seventh month dies._

"The Sea of Imaginary Numbers, huh? Is that how you got home, Shirou?"

"Iris! Iris, it's too risky! We can't lose you, not now!"

"Hmm? Do bring me a souvenir. Try not to take too long though."

"Here, take this. It's not much, but I'm sure it'll help."

"Don't be an idiot, don't be an idiot, and oh, don't be an idiot. _That goes for the both of you_."

"Be careful, okay? You've got people here too."

"I'm off. Wish me luck."

* * *

A shuddering felt through his copy of the Jewel Sword, Rin tensing next to him, her circuits thrumming with Prana.

"I'm, being summoned?"

"That's impossible! Th-" Rin cut herself off as she felt and then saw the energies of the Kaleidoscope but different, wrong, before immediately acting. A rainbow-coloured jewel was pushed into Shirou's mouth with a curt direction to swallow it. A twist of her own Jewel Sword opened communications to her master, an application of the Second Magic recently mastered.

"Master! We have a problem!"

"Yes, I felt it too. This is something that I'm prevented from directly involving myself in. _Infuriating_."

"Right, I'll manage somehow then." Rin cut the communication and stalked over to Shirou, grabbing a fistful of his hair before giving him a searing kiss. "Come back wielding a True Magic this time, or not at all."

"I love you too, Rin."

"Idiot. Get back safe."

* * *

"Senpai, we have a coordinate anchor, but it's shifting."

"Thanks, Mashu. Mister Holmes, Da Vinci-chan, do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Hmm, the insertion axis is similar, but the dimensional spaces around the coordinates seem to be compressed. There's a possibility that there are two separate anchors existing in the same metaphysical plane."

"You're just making that up! I didn't understand the meanings of that at all!"

"Director Gordolf, I'm surprised you can call yourself a magus."

"Well, Ritsuka? Do we wait, or do we go in?"

"We go. We've got power, decent mana reserves, and an active Summoning system. Who said that there were no heroes left in man?"

"That's the spirit! All hands, brace for surfacing!"


	20. MantisLion Swords of the Lostbelt Ch2

**Swords of the Lostbelt - Manifold Imaginary Axis by MantisLion**

The ritual circle spun and flashed around her, the connection she had forged with Shirou all those years ago faint, hair-fine but still strong enough to guide her travel. The magic reached its peak and with a crack not unlike Apparition the Woman-Who-Conquered left in search of her Wizard of Swords.

* * *

CE.1943 – The Sun Sets Upon Britannia

"Your Highness, Your Highness, we must evacuate post-haste!"

"I will not be known as the Queen who abandoned her country in its darkest hour!"

"This is a tactical withdrawal-"

"Auror Captains Potter and Scamander, your Queen orders you to retreat in good order, with all active British magical combat personnel, and continue the fight from the New World."

"We cannot abandon you, Highness. If you stay, then we stay alongside you; to the bitter end if we must."

Queen Elizabeth's reply was interrupted by a magical circle burning itself onto the floor, arcs and sigils too painful to look at, not by virtue of brightness, but by the concepts they contained within themselves. Potter and Scamander's wands were already in motion, layers of shields springing up between the Queen and the magic circle.

A figure, clad in cloak and robes the colours of polished steel and blued gunmetal appeared in the circle, wand held in front of them; a formal dueller's salute. Two long knives were sheathed at their sides, and almost glowing, piercing green eyes the colour of the killing curse glared out at them from beneath the hood.

They could almost taste the magic in the air as Iris Potter exhaled, her stance lowering ever so slightly.

"Who the hell are you people, and where is Shirou?"

"Identify yourself, witch!" Potter was the first to react, constrained spellfire glowing at the tip of his wand, offhand concealed behind him in a sword-charm, ready to cast.

Iris answered by Apparating forwards, Lachesis springing out of its sheath into a hand already in motion, magical shields no match for the magic inherent in a Basilisk's fang. A bar of blinding light erupted from her wand, smashing through Scamander's hasty shields like they were cheap porcelain. One step with the twist of a wand and three swords were conjured around Scamander's neck, an interlocking yoke of razor steel, a second, and Iris held Lachesis at Potter's throat, the deadly edge millimetres from his skin.

"Let me ask again. Who the hell are you people, and what have you done with my friend?"

Four moves, the dust eddies left by Iris' movements yet to still, and two of the finest Aurors in the British Isles were helpless before her.

"Young witch, I would most appreciate it if you released my Aurors." The request was punctuated by the cocking of a hammer, and Iris found herself looking past the two wizards down the barrel of a Webley Mk VI, held in the steady hands of someone she only recognised from coins and history books.

"Queen Elizabeth?"

"The Second." An eyebrow quirked, and her trigger finger tensed.

"Oh, oh I messed up big time. Uh, sorry chaps. Um. If you'd just give me say, twenty minutes to draw a new transit circle I'll be on my way?" Iris' eyes widened as she realised that she hadn't just transited through dimensions, but time as well.

Her shock and momentary inattention let Potter snap his free hand out as he moved backwards, dispelling one of the swords holding Scamander hostage. Three wands and a knife moved to engage before they were interrupted by a shout.

"Halt! Auror Scamander, Auror Potter, stand down."

It was a testament to their professionalism that the two veterans held, choking off subverbalised spells and aborting casting motions. Iris took the opportunity to apparate backwards, a whisper of air announcing the spell instead of the usual crack.

"Potter? Did you say Potter?" Iris asked, her wand and Lachesis sheathed, hands held open at her sides.

"I did indeed, young lady. However, we are still at a disadvantage. If you would care to introduce yourself?"

"Ah." She hesitated for a moment before slowly reaching up and pulling back her hood, the messy black hair of her father's bloodline finally revealing itself. "Iris Potter. From the future. The year 2004, to be exact."

"And you expect us to believe that codswallop? Your Majesty, permission to engage hostilities." Scamander's hand was white-knuckled around his wand, anger burning in his eyes.

"Theseus, hold." Potter stuck an arm in front of his colleague, eyes still locked on Iris'.

"Henry, you can't possibly believe her?!"

"There is one way to prove your story, to me at least. If you are first-born, you would have something in your possession that you will inherit from your father, upon his passing. Name it." Henry Potter held his wand at low ready, a loose dueller's grip.

"I'll do you one better, Great-grandfather." Iris slowly reached up to her hood, and gently placed it back over her head, before vanishing completely from sight. "I have mastered the Cloak of True Invisibility, third of the Hallows." She said, as she faded back into view slowly, ten steps back from where she once stood.

"Well then." Henry breathed out, lost for words.

"Gentlemen, Miss Potter, I do think we've wasted enough time here." Queen Elizabeth holstered her sidearm, Henry turning to face her, lowing his wand.

"Henry, really? One vanishing trick and that's all the proof you need?" Theseus said, incredulity tinting his words.

"Auror Scamander, do you not trust your superior's judgment? Stand down and receive your orders." Queen Elizabeth's words were hard as iron, prompting him to stand at attention.

"No, I do not, your majesty. The last thing we need in our efforts to bring you to safety is a powerful witch of unknown allegiances."

"I can hear you, you know." Iris idly twirled a conjured pen between her fingers, glinting in the red of emergency lighting.

"Young Miss Potter is right there, Auror Scamander. What are your intentions, Miss Potter?"

Iris vanished the pen before replying. "Find out exactly what year I'm in, draw another transit circle and then try and find my friend. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I think I've changed things already just by being here."

"You certainly wouldn't have made them any worse, Miss Potter. Aurors Potter and Scamander will bring you to safety, what happens then is between the three of you. Auror Potter, you are to rally the magical forces remaining in Britain and stage a retreat to the colonies. In the coming days, Britain will fall, and I will not see the best and brightest of our mages under Grindelwald's yoke."

"Your majesty, you are too important to this country to-"

"The Kingdom's generals and soldiers are far more important than their Queen, especially when the line of succession has been more than assured. The King has died doing his duty, and I shall do the same, knowing that the Throne is secure. You have your orders, so follow them."

Theseus turned away, wand-hand white-knuckled, not trusting himself to speak.

"We can use our magic to hide you, shrink you down, carry you with us. You absolutely would not be a burden."

"We have been traced to the most secret, secure sites in Britain, and they have my husband's body. If what you have told me about magic is true, them divining my location would be child's play. I refuse to be a liability." The Queen held her head high, even as she signed her own death warrant.

"Let it be known that I am obeying with the strongest of objections, your Highness."

"Noted, for what it is worth." She passed her signet rings to Henry, and unholstered her sidearm. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go on, and finish the fight."

"By your leave, Your Majesty." Henry, Theseus and Iris all bowed to her and Iris followed the two Aurors out, winding their way through the bunker complex, the oppressive feeling of anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards strong no matter where they went.

"Do you have a broom with you, Iris?"

"Didn't think to bring one with me, Auror Potter." Iris shook her head.

"No matter, these bunkers are stocked with some surplus. And call me Henry. We grab you a broom and then break for altitude; make sure your bubblehead charm is good, we want to be at angels ten."

"I'll follow your lead then." Iris responded, unsure of the military terminology.

A spare broom was quickly acquired, charms applied, and the three of them flew into the night, where the scale of what was happening in the British Isles finally became apparent to Iris. London burned. Tracer fire was so thick in some places that Iris only saw them as waving lines of light. Through it all, the coloured flashes of spells and curses hitting shields and their targets.

"Damn it! Luftkampfmagier!"

"Who?!" Iris shouted to be heard over the sound of rushing wind.

"Aerial combat mages! Our brooms aren't the match of theirs, we have to lose them on the ground!"

"I've never met a mage that I couldn't outfly!" Quick jerks and tight snap-rolls let a few lines of multicoloured light zip past Iris, and the broom in her hands creaked enough that she could feel the strain through her hands.

"You maybe, but I'm no specialist flight mage!"

"Ugh, I don't think my broom could take it either. Auror Potter, I'll follow your lead!"

"Theseus! Throw chaff, we're descending!"

"Roger!" Theseus waved his wand in arcs and loops behind him, distortions and afterimages throwing the pursuing mages off their trail briefly. The three of them sped down into the treeline, Henry in the lead, Theseus bringing up the rear. "Henry, I counted a full squadron of Luftkampfmagier, we've got maybe a minute before they get here. We could take them, but they'd get word out before we could put them all down."

Henry nodded before responding. "Iris, your combat specialties?"

"Mid to close range, shock and ambush. I can have half a Hit-Wizard team down in seconds if I get the drop on them." Iris wasn't boasting, she'd done it on numerous occasions, blooding the new graduates of the Academy.

"Okay, you open hostilities, Theseus and I will mop up. If your performance against us was any indication, this will be like taking sweets from a baby."

"Gotcha." Iris disappeared with a thought, the Cloak covering her with its silvery sheen in an eyeblink. Henry and Theseus layered concealment spells upon themselves, smeared dirt over exposed skin as they took up ambush positions.

Theseus' estimate were spot on, the aerial troop landing in perfect formation before breaking up into four groups of four, fanning out with wands at the ready. It was a quarter moon that night, enough that Iris could see perfectly. Red eyes, ice-pale skin, mass-produced wands. Almost like the Einzbern back home. She wanted to stay her hand, but remembering the spells flung at her during their flight… They were out to kill her, her Great-grandfather, and his friend. It would be quick. She'd make it quick.

Lachesis parted robes and flesh like warm butter, flashing out once, twice, thrice, as Iris ghosted through the rear-most group. A touch of a wand, a flex of her magic, and the last mage died with a gurgle, his blood freezing in his body. The next group barely had the time to register the deaths of their compatriots before Iris was on them, wand ignited in a bar of blazing light that she dragged across two of them, shattering shields and scorching robes, flesh, bone before she cut the spell and Apparated forwards, the muted pop muffled by the sound of Lachesis driving into a mage's chest to the guard. Not bothering to take the split second required to draw Lachesis out, she reached down to her right hip where Canlleuad was sheathed and banished it out with a flick of her fingers at the last mage of the group, a perfect shot into the T-zone dropping them immediately.

Iris exhaled as she gripped Lachesis, letting the falling mage's body do the hard work of pulling it out. Henry had almost finished his group of four, furious spellfire and surprise giving him the advantage. Theseus had unfortunately drawn the captain of the group and as Iris moved to help him, the mage captain reversed his wand and plunged it into his chest, lighting themselves up in self-detonation. Theseus was blown backwards with a pained grunt, a hasty shield stopping the worst of the damage, but blowing him a great distance away.

"Theseus!" Henry shouted, eyes night-blind from the explosion. Iris was little better, and even having Canlleuad back on her person helped little.

"He was blown that way, let's go!" Iris started moving with Henry in tow before slowly stopping, a feeling of foreboding creeping up on her.

"Iris, what's wrong? We have to get to Theseus."

There was something wrong, past having landed herself into an alternate universe. The forest was too quiet. It wasn't those Luftkampfmagier, with their too-pale skin and red eyes. Homunculi. Something else was in the air, and Iris closed her eyes and took a deep breath, mimicking what Shirou did when he was trying to recognise magecraft.

The feel of fresh snowfall, the smell of forge-smoke, a hint of sulphur, blood.

Power.

"Oh no. RUN RUN RUN RUN! We have to get the fuck out of here!"

Henry was about to disagree before Iris tackled him to the ground, and trees behind them started shattering, the zip-crack of near-miss supersonic projectiles only reaching them afterwards.

"Cover your eyes!" Iris banished a spread of metallic spheres into the woods behind her, crawling with one arm, eyes screwed shut with her arm clamped over them. The Reinforced flash grenades detonated shortly after, and a light brighter than any flashbang briefly lit up the forest, somewhat visible even through her arm.

The barrage stopped briefly, and Iris took the opportunity to side-along Apparate with Henry a ways forwards, both staggering to their feet in the brief reprieve, both of their wands weaving obfuscation and stealth spells as they moved.

"We can't fight them! We have to-" Iris let out a choked scream, Lachesis dropping from nerveless fingers, high pitched laughter and the screaming of her mother echoing in her mind as three glowing red markings etched themselves on the back of her hand, and into her soul.

Three blue markings, in the shapes of the Deathly Hallows. Command Seals, in a world which was meant to have never seen a Grail War.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck…"

"Iris, IRIS! Deep breaths, what happened back there?" Henry grabbed her shoulders, head on a swivel and eyes darting around for any sign of their attacker.

"That was something that shouldn't be here."

"And we'll give it a right bollocking once we know what it is, so what is it?"

"It's something that normal magic won't be able to scratch, only relics or ancient magic have a chance against it. Shirou-my friend, told me about them. They're called Servants, and they're the closest thing to a walking weapon of mass destruction as you'll ever get."

"Grindelwald has one?! How the Hell hasn't he won the war already with something that powerful?"

"A recent summoning. It has to be. Only thing that explains the Command Seals I just got."

"Those markings?"

"Yeah. Look, I'll explain later, we have to get to Theseus and out of here, out of the country if possible."

A voice from the shadows interrupted Henry's reply, echoing through the forest, steeped with magic. "I'm afraid I can't allow that, Master of Blue. I have orders to apprehend you, if you have not summoned your own Servant yet. It seems that I am in luck."

Layers of spells that would have held off a kill team for minutes were casually cut through like cheap cloth, glowing red dagger weaving runes in the air before returning into the darkness. The first thing they saw was a glowing red sword, then the death's head mask with glowing teal optics, with the unmistakeable aura of a Servant hitting them at full force.

"You face Servant Saber, of White." The Servant declared, sword arcing up in a salute. "Will you come peacefully, or will we have to be less than agreeable with one another?"

"Henry, I can buy you a minute and a half, two at best. Get Theseus and get the hell out of here."

"Iris-"

"Remember what I 've mastered. All I have to do is not lose."

Henry looked at war with himself for a fleeting moment before the wartime Auror took over, a curt nod before he vanished in the direction of Theseus.

"Very noble. I will not enjoy this, Master of Blue." Saber of White blurred into motion, the flat of his blade making an arc towards Iris' temple. The swipe tore through the illusion, and he was unbalanced for a fraction of a second.

It was only preternatural reflexes that saved him from severe injury as Lachesis flashed from the ground towards Iris' waiting hand, the edge of the blade parting his armour and scraping across his skin, leaving a welt, but not a cut. Iris caught Lachesis with a flourish, sweeping the cloak tighter around herself as she flooded her body with magic, a poor imitation of Shirou's Reinforcement, but nonetheless effective. A rain of daggers shattered the ground in her wake, a desperate twist of her body that would have dislocated vertebrae were she not Reinforced bringing Lachesis to block a backhand swing, the impact throwing her backwards, almost jarring her arms out of her sockets.

Five seconds from when he started talking, and Iris was already at a disadvantage.

"You fight well. Presence concealment, and a powerful gift of a knife. Who taught you?"

"You're rather talkative for a kidnapper. One of my best friends taught me." Iris' voice echoed from all around the Saber, and he sighed quietly before whirling his sword in an arc around him, trees splintering and dirt flying with the force of the swing.

Another exchange; Iris sweeping up with a backhand stab from inside his guard, bringing the edge of Lachesis into line with the Saber's guarding offhand, forcing him to abort the motion. A backhand forearm strike was turned into a solid shoulder check from the opposite angle, knocking Iris away as she restored her full invisibility.

Sixteen seconds, and only another scratch on his armour.

"We may be enemies, but that does not mean that I should not be polite to a warrior. You learnt your lessons well, Master of Blue."

"You hit like a goddamn freight train. I don't know how my friend ever kept up with Servants like you." A Bombarda was nullified by his magic resistance, the spell fizzling into smoke with a squeal upon his armour.

A dagger was already in flight towards Iris before her spell even hit, and it was only her frantic Reinforcement of the Cloak that saved her, the impact still knocking her to the ground as the dagger ricocheted off. The Saber followed in its path, cratering the ground with a fist as Iris pushed off and away, the Cloak shimmering as it tried to deal with being plastered by sod.

The Saber planted his sword into the ground and pulsed his mana through it, a crater around him immediately being blasted away and the already retreating form of Iris was revealed by the dirt, multiple layers of shields; magical and transfigured thrown up to intercept the brace of daggers coming at her. Iris swung Lachesis up with all her power, diverting the pommel strike coming at her head, reversing the motion into a cut at the Saber's underarm, missing as he gracefully stepped past the motion. A spin, an overhand swing, and Iris was forced to match her Reinforced strength against his, the flat of his blade gradually crushing her down, a test of her strength.

"Most impressive. I dare say that you would be competition for our Assassin."

A pained grunt was Iris' response, the feeling of her muscles gradually tearing, joints creaking under the pressure robbing her of speech.

'Desperate times. This had better work…' In her mind, Iris saw her body engulfed by the sickly green light of the Killing Curse, and in the seat of her soul, she took a portion of her magical power and set it ablaze. Magical energy rushed through her system, abused muscles knitting together before tearing again, over and over, bones straining at the limits of Reinforcement, and the outpouring of uncontrolled magic seared the ground around her to glass before she brought it to heel. All she needed, all she wanted was a circle; all she needed to do was see it in her mind's eye, and her magic would obey.

The force pressing her down abruptly lifted and she jerked upwards, a kick to her solar plexus smashing her backwards through a tree, vision going white with pain.

No, she needed to do this here and now. There was no better time. She wouldn't give up. She wouldn't be captured. Until her magic was bled dry and her blood ran still, she would never surrender. The world seemed to slow around her as her transit circle melted itself into the ground around her, lighting up with blue energy.

 _All paths are a joining._

 _All paths are paved by desire._

 _All paths are to the promised future._

 _Elder for a pillar._

 _Polished stone for a remembrance._

 _Stolen silk for a consecration._

 _My declaration-_

 _Tear open the three-forked road from the Kingdom._

 _The sea gives forth its bounty to the brave._

 _Come forth, my Guardian of the Balance!_

* * *

Iris opened her eyes when she heard the clash of steel upon steel, the enemy Saber driven back by a pair of all-too-familiar black and white blades.

The briefest of reprieves, the calm before the storm.

"Iris Potter. Saber of Blue has answered your summons. I ask of you, are you my Master?"

"Shirou!"


End file.
